Stigma is an important concept with which to describe the relationships of people within different social groups. Adolescents attending school are a vulnerable segment of the population due to insufficiently formed psychological mechanisms, an unstable position among adults, and significant physical, emotional, and cognitive stress. Nevertheless, in many communities, there is an even greater challange for this population, which is the formation of stereotypical behavior toward children whose parents are or have been incarcerated.
This issue is not much studied within the framework of contemporary age psychology and sociology and requires additional efforts to attract public attention. In order to form a solid theoretical basis for further research, it is necessary to examine the issue from three different angles. First, it is important to consider the process of stigmatization of adolescents in general and the mechanisms of its influence on the formation and well-being of personality. Second, it is important to look at the scientific evidence of specific school cases in which groups of adolescents have been the victims of prejudice and prejudice because of their parents’ criminal records. Finally, it is important to look at the problem from the perspective of the future and the validity of ideas that already exist as to how to remedy the situation.
The article of Martínez et al. considers the problem of stigmatization of the Latin American population of secondary school students. The author’s task is to consider the mechanisms of prejudice, which subsequently form an unfavorable psychological state. The object of the study is Depressive disorder, which is often observed in representatives of this social group and can be associated with the process of stigmatization(Martínez et al., 2020). This work belongs to the type of mixed research, which combines qualitative and quantitative ways of working with information.
The authors cite statistics that the key factors determining the appearance of stigmatization in people is gender, level of education, as well as the absence or presence of various psychological disorders. The author’s hypothesis is that the existence of his upbringing in adverse social conditions is the cause of unstable emotional background, which then later itself becomes the cause of stigmatization (Martínez et al., 2020). In fact, the article argues that the basis of prejudice and harsh treatment of vulnerable children by peers is not the social situation in general and the parents, but the already existing and accumulated stress of an unfortunate situation. This idea is supported by statistics collected in Chile, according to which more than 60% of children exposed to Stigma have been diagnosed with depressive disorders of varying severity (Martínez et al., 2020). The results of this study made recommendations to school administrators in order to reduce prejudice against vulnerable children in schools. The main step would be to create different educational programs that would take into account the presence of current psychological disorders in the Schoolchildren while combating systematization.
Study of Ye looks in more depth at the relationship of incarcerated parents to their children and how it affects the behavior of adolescents in society. The focus of this study was shifted to the case of the younger generation in a well-to-do family committing crimes similar to those for which their parents were convicted. An important point of this study is the question of whether stigmatization of adolescents can subsequently influence their desire or psychological need to repeat the scenario of their parents (Ye, 2023). In seeking to confirm or refute these hypotheses, researchers turn to an analysis of the existing theoretical literature, thus positioning the work on qualitative research methods.
The author notes that often the sources of stigma in schools are children themselves because of dysfunctional families. This is due to the fact that there is such a thing as a criminal gene that contributes to the formation of aggressive behavior of all blood relatives (Ye, 2023). Accordingly, children from similar families in which adults have experience of criminal or administrative responsibility are most exposed to cruel and prejudicial attitudes towards other people, according to researchers. Further, a significant part of the paper is devoted to questions of how stigma can be eliminated in schools.
Since parental imprisonment is an indisputable cause of psychological trauma, competent support for such children is necessary. On the one hand, it will make it possible to lower the level of already existing aggression toward the outside world and reduce the risk of the teenager becoming an agent of stigmatization of other children in similar social circumstances (Ye, 2023). On the other hand, competent assistance and counseling from teachers and psychologists will allow the schoolchild to form quality mechanisms of protection against prejudice and unethical behavior on the part of others. Finally, a valuable recommendation is the need to work with the parents of all students who are often a source of stigma imposed on the younger generation their fears that children from disadvantaged families should be isolated from the prosperous majority.
Within the article of Shu-Ping et al., one can consider ways to overcome the problem of Stigma its different schools. The most attention is paid to the study of the method of school intervention and the regulation of problems of prejudice due to various psychological. Although the topic of the work is quite narrow and has few points of contact with the original topic of the future study, and conducts an in-depth analysis of existing theoretical work on ways to combat stigma (Shu-Ping et al., 2018). Consequently, this article has a high scientific relevance and can help to further draw conclusions about the applicability of certain techniques.
The latter assumes that students and their parents will take part in courses and trainings that expand their knowledge of what stigma is and how it affects the person and why this phenomenon is harmful to society. Another important method, according to scientists, is to increase learning motivation and a good attitude toward learning. The author of the article makes a connection between how teenagers relate to their peers and how their perception of their own responsibilities is shaped (Shu-Ping et al., 2018). Responsibility is a universal phenomenon which if formed in the structure of the personality then immediately reflected in all spheres of life.
Consequently, if students learn to understand their responsibilities as a schoolboy, see the significance for themselves as individuals, then as a logical consequence a responsible attitude to society and to peers will emerge. The initiative mentioned in this paper has limited applicability in educational institutions because it requires large financial expenses, and education management does not have enough resources to organize this methodology. Nevertheless, the data obtained in this article indicate a great prospect for further research on the organization of measures to combat stigmatization from the perspective of school economics.
References
Martínez, V., Crockett, M. A., Jiménez-Molina, Á., Espinosa-Duque, H. D., Barrientos, E., & Ordóñez-Carrasco, J. L. (2020). Stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes to depression in adolescent school students in chile and colombia. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. Web.
Shu-Ping, C., Sargent, E., & Stuart, H. (2018). Effectiveness of school-based interventions on mental health stigmatization. RedearchGate. Web.
Ye, X. (2023). Where does the Stigma of Prisoners’ Children Come from: A Sociological Discussion Based on Criminal Genes. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 8, 1593–1598. Web.